The present invention relates to a computer-implemented simulation method for estimating wear of a tire and a computer system, capable of accurately estimating wear of each of axially divided tread zones of the tread portion under arbitrary actual running conditions of the tire.
As well known in the tire art, tread wear of a tire especially a pneumatic tire includes various uneven wear such as: crown wear—a crown portion of the tread is worn more than other portion; both-side shoulder wear—both shoulder portions are worn more than the crown portion therebetween; one-side shoulder wear—one of tread shoulder portions is worn more than other portion; railway wear—tread is worn in two parallel lines along a circumferential groove, and the like.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-1723 (patent document 1), a method for predicting tire wear is disclosed. In this method, wear energies of a tire under several measuring conditions are measured by the use of an indoor testing machine.
This indoor testing machine for measuring wear energy is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H8(1996)-128937, wherein sensors for wear energy are aligned in line in the tire circumferential direction at one axial position, and the test tire rolls on a reciprocating flat table.
Thus, the wear energy is measured at only one axial position, and the rolling of the tire is not continuous. Further, the surface of the table may be largely different from the actual road surfaces. Accordingly, it is difficult to accurately estimate a wear amount of a tire. Especially, it is almost impossible to estimate the above-mentioned uneven wear occurring in the tire circumferential direction at different axial positions.